Romney pitches to GOP fence-sitters

Mitt Romney has been courting Rep. Aaron Schock for months now. He even showed up as a surprise guest to celebrate the Illinois Republican’s 30th birthday over what Schock described as “heavy hors d’oeuvres” at a private residence in downtown Chicago in May.

But Schock, one of about a dozen House members attending a meeting with Romney Wednesday, is still on the fence.

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Schock’s reluctance to endorse — and the lingering questions in his mind about Romney — may help explain the larger story about why Romney has yet to seal the deal with GOP lawmakers and the Republican electorate as a whole.

The key question for Schock is whether Romney is tough enough to withstand the coming onslaught from President Barack Obama’s campaign. That’s how Schock frames his decision, and it’s a question that is no doubt weighing on the other lawmakers slated to attend the Romney briefing Wednesday.

“What I’m going to be looking for from him … is what his response will be to the primary election attacks as well as the general election attacks that are going to be mounted if he is the nominee,” said Schock, who professes to “know all too well” how Illinois-based Obama campaign guru David Axelrod can turn a quality candidate into mincemeat with a big bankroll.

“That’s the Chicago style,” Schock said of campaigns focused on tearing down the opponent.

While some high-profile conservatives have told POLITICO in recent weeks that they are willing to look beyond Romney’s past positions on social issues — and his support for a Massachusetts plan that helped inform Obama’s national health care law — no one is ready to look past the perceived weakness in any candidate.

There’s too much at stake, and some Republicans fear that Obama could have success in portraying Romney as unprincipled. That’s how Texas Gov. Rick Perry is attacking him now: “You can’t lead a nation by misleading the people,” taunts one Perry ad that highlights Romney’s changing positions.

But as POLITICO noted this week, Perry’s had trouble racking up endorsements from members of Congress, including Texas delegation members who have fought with him in the past over a variety of issues. According to a list compiled by The Hill newspaper, Romney had 31 congressional endorsements as of Oct. 18, Perry 10, Newt Gingrich five and Ron Paul three.

Most of the lawmakers POLITICO reached out to for this story declined to be interviewed — even meeting with a candidate can unintentionally give the impression of an endorsement. But it’s an opportunity for Romney to make his case directly to a small group of lawmakers who are at least open to his message.